School Board Bits: D122 Honors Retirees

The District 122 school board had an early meeting Wednesday night to make room to honor the district's retirees with a reception afterward.

At the end of the meeting, district spokeswoman Jenny Zimmerman recognized the five retirees in attendance (out of eight total) with kind words and parting gifts.

"They work hard to prepare our children for the future," she said. "Thank you for everything you do."

The retirees are:

• Peggy Driscoll, LRC teacher at Nelson Prairie
• Katie Jenkins, fourth-grade teacher at Spencer Crossing
• Janice Kent, aide at Oakview
• Kathy McCollum, drama and speech teacher at Martino Junior High
• Rick Schultz, computer teacher at Martino and Liberty
• Linda Schedin, sixth-grade teacher at Spencer Crossing
• Sally Wieclaw, payroll clerk at the district office
• Marian Woods, resource teacher at Nelson Prairie

Schultz spoke about his 33 years with the district and brought some old relics to show his proof of tenure, including sweatshirt that said Oakview School, before the "Oster" was added, as well as a handwritten pay stub. He said he’ll stay with the district by being a substitute teacher and possibly helping with the track and cross country teams, and that he's been honored to be with District 122.

“This district walks the talk,” he said.

Language Arts Program

Associate Superintendent Peggy Manville and 35 teachers met for two days earlier this month to refine the district’s language arts program and make recommendations for the future. They decided a full language arts adoption is needed and are deciding between purchasing two programs, Story Town or Good Habit, Good Readers.

Manville will likely bring the board more information at next month's meeting and discuss other goals that were set with the teachers.

Q3 Budget Update

Business manager Harold Huang gave the board a budget update on the third quarter of the district’s 2010-11 fiscal year. He said the corporate personal property replacement tax is producing more revenue than anticipated, more than covering the result of lower interest.

Also, to the district’s surprise, the state made the third of four categorical payments to the district. It paid the Sept. 2010 payment in March. The district hopes one more categorical payment will come by June 30; if not, the state will still owe the district about $1.1 million.

Overall, the district is spending slightly less than what was budgeted, but Huang noted that the district will need to purchase the for $125,000 even though it’s not originally in the district’s budget.

Board Declines Recognition

The Illinois Association of School Boards sent a letter to the school district announcing its School Board Governance Recognition program, which seeks to show appreciation for board efforts across the state.

There was an application form included, which the board would have to fill out, but members said they would decline the offer. Member Deb Kedzior said the board probably hasn’t met the IASB’s criteria, and the majority of members agreed with her.

“Our behavior as a board doesn’t warrant receiving this award,” she said. “We can all reflect on this.”

“I would have to agree,” member Pat Martino said. “Let’s be honest.”

Memember Maureen Broderick said she doesn’t think behavior was necessarily judged in the criteria, and instead the focus is on things such as policy development, superintendent evaluation and communicating with the public.